Inside the Illinois Executive MBA

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Can’t Stop -- Won’t Stop

I fall in the subset of students that doesn’t typically travel much for work – the rest of the class travels extensively. Whether it’s commuting by train, driving to Canada or flying to Australia and China, the class of 2015 has enough travel reward points to easily reach “Executive Platinum Diamond Concierge Baller” status. That doesn’t even include attending life events like births (congrats, Uncle Rick) and baptisms (congrats, Erin) that we wouldn’t miss for the world. That said, our EMBA curriculum is like P. Diddy; it can’t stop – won’t stop.

Since the program started, I’ve been able to stick to a daily study schedule – until this month. I have a newfound appreciation for my comrades that travel frequently while keeping up with the course assignments.

Earlier this month, I had to fly to Phoenix, which was the week that individual assignments and a group final were due. When packing my roller bag for the trip, I quickly realized that half of its weight was my book and syllabus. When I finally got on the plane, my attempts to read the material were sabotaged by a roaring S80 engine (I was in the last row) and a PhD student who noticed my syllabus and wouldn’t stop talking about it (she actually gave me some good advice). While in Phoenix, I worked and “built relationships” until late, so I barely cracked the 10 pounds worth of course material that I brought with me. Don’t even get me started on the weak hotel Wi-Fi connection!

My rookie travel mistakes aside, this is a regular occurrence for the class of 2015, and now the holidays are upon us. We’ll spend time with friends and family; eat until we’re stuffed; and fall asleep to the sweet lullaby of “Touchdown, Cowboys!!!” Then we’ll wake up in a cold sweat – nightmares of being hunted by a pack of voracious supply and demand charts will do that to a person.

The curriculum isn’t that savage, but it does expect the best from us regardless of what’s happening in our lives. Enjoy the extra week off, find the right balance for you and remember that the curriculum can’t stop – won’t stop. _________________________